


The Charlie Cure

by Wallothet



Series: The Charlie Cure [1]
Category: Supernatural
Genre: Angels, Angst, Brotherly Love, Cas meets Charlie, Charlie helps, Crack, Destiel - Freeform, First Kiss, Fluff, Friendship, Happy bits, Humor, Love, M/M, Making Up, One Shot, Sad bits, Schmoop, Serious bits, Smut coming soon I think, Stand Alone, The Charlie Cure, Wallothet, angel!cas - Freeform, charlie meets cas, falling, human!Cas, sleepover
Language: English
Status: Completed
Published: 2013-05-30
Updated: 2013-09-15
Packaged: 2017-12-13 10:35:12
Rating: Not Rated
Warnings: No Archive Warnings Apply
Chapters: 2
Words: 3,590
Publisher: archiveofourown.org
Story URL: https://archiveofourown.org/works/823307
Author URL: https://archiveofourown.org/users/Wallothet/pseuds/Wallothet
Summary: <blockquote class="userstuff">
              <p>She angled her head, eyeing him up, a smile sliding across her mouth, “I know that look… Who’re you texting?”</p><p>“No one- it’s-”</p><p>Charlie swiped the phone from his hand, holding it at arm’s length, “Cas?” She read from the screen, “- the angel right? Have you heard from him recently?”</p>
            </blockquote>





	1. The Charlie Cure

“So where’s Sam?”

“Taking some time off… From me I guess,” Dean took Charlie’s overnight bag from her, setting it on his desk, “He’s on a salt n’ burn with Garth. He feels better when he’s doing something.”

Dean turned on the heating, the chilly night outside threatening to ice out the bunker.

“And that’s why you invited me over for a sleepover? Nobody’s hair to braid?” She said, not unkindly.

“Hey if I got the chance to do anything with Sammy’s hair, it’d involve scissors.” He dropped down onto his bed and picked up his opened beer, handing Charlie a new one, “And this isn’t a sleepover, what are you, nine?”

Charlie shrugged, her beer hissed as she popped it open, “You told me over the phone to pack my pyjamas, I call that a sleepover,” She seated herself at the foot end of the bed as she took a sip of beer and looked down in awe at the bed, “Is this-?”

“Memory foam, yah,” Dean cut in with a grin, laying down on his front, feet at the pillow end, “It remembers me.”

 “Tonight, we’re sleeping top and tail, okay? There’s no way I’m sleeping on the couch now I know this is here,” She bounced a little to make her point, “How did you even afford this?....... Dean?”

“Hmm? Sorry-” Dean put the phone down he was using, looking back up at Charlie.

She angled her head, eyeing him up, a smile sliding across her mouth, “I know that look… Who’re you texting?”

“No one- it’s-”

Charlie swiped the phone from his hand, holding it at arm’s length, “Cas?” She read from the screen, “- the angel right? Have you heard from him recently?”

Dean leant up and snagged the phone back, safely stowing it away in his pocket, “Yeah, it’s Cas the angel and no… Not for weeks.”

“I haven’t met anyone else close to you besides Sam, but you go on about Cas so much I feel like I know him already.”

Dean pulled a face, “I do not “go on” about him.”

“Oh please, if I didn’t know any better I’d say you two were knocking boots,” She chuckled to herself, sparing him a glance before taking another swig of beer.

“What? That’s crazy…” he forced a laugh. A laugh that rang false even to his own ears. And talk his way out he may try, but there was no stopping the flood of colour blossoming across his cheeks. Which of course Charlie noticed within seconds.

“Oh my God you ARE banging him, you sly dog! I can’t believe you never told me you were gay-” She flapped her hands in realisation, “I should’ve known when you talked me through flirting with that security guy at Roman Enterp-”

“Stop! Charlie stop, I’m not… Gay- And me and Cas aren’t knocking boots either…” He looked down again, peeling the label on his beer bottle, face set.

Charlie studied him closely, friendly amusement quickly being replaced by gentle solemnity as she saw his situation unfolding for what it truly was.

“… But you want to be,” she finished for him.

He lifted his gaze, meeting her eyes and saw only love and friendship there. He nodded slowly.

She smiled warmly and leant down to kiss the top of his head before leaving for the kitchen and returning with two empty glasses. She then opened her bag on Dean’s desk and pulled out a bottle of whiskey.

She returned to the bed, also laying down on her front, beside Dean and poured them both a glass.

“Start at the beginning.”

 

***

 

“And anyway after he healed me and he’d explained about this Naomi bitch controlling him he just took off with the angel tablet… I just don’t know where I stand with him sometimes,” He took a long swig of his drink, reaching for the bottle and topping both glasses up.

Charlie nodded slowly, letting Dean’s words sink in before she spoke.

 “Well poor judgment aside, at least we know he feels the same way.”

Dean frowned, leaning back a little to look at her properly, “What makes you so sure?”

“Are you kidding? He’s under control of Wacky Wings, has been in one way or another for months and he’s about to stab you in the face… You say “I need you” and that blade falls out of his hand, connection broken, line severed, because you got through to him with three words when he couldn’t even get a hold of himself.”

It wasn’t the first time Dean had considered that, but hearing someone else say it made him a little more partial towards it, “You make a good point…”

“I make an excellent point.”

Dean swilled the contents of his glass and spoke quietly, “And yet after everything… After all the crap we’ve been through, he doesn’t trust me. Me. Of all people.”

“You know he’s just trying to do the right thing, even if it is, y’know… Wrong.”

“And actions speak volumes. He made his choice. It’ll be a friggin’ miracle if I ever even see him again.”

“Has he ever managed to stay away properly so far? He always comes back.” Charlie pulled herself up, “Look… Once he comes back and you’ve forgiven him- which you’re gonna do- you need to do something with it.”

“Do something with what?”

“Liiiiiike take the first step and tell him straight up how you feel, no sugar-coating it either.” She climbed off the bed, stretching as she stood up, “We need snacks.”

 “You forgot the part where he left the universe with the angel tablet.”

“And who do you think will be the first person he goes to when he realises he can’t do this alone? Thank God you’re pretty ‘cos I’m starting to doubt your IQ,” she said with a smirk.

He flipped her off and grinned, draining his glass as she flounced out of his room, her own glass in hand. She yelled back once she reached the kitchen entrance, “I’M GONNA GRAB THESE POTATO CHIPS TIGHT AND RAISE THEM FROM THE PANTRY-” The shrill sound of glass shattering coupled with a piercing scream rang out down the corridor and Dean was barrelling down the hallway after her before the echo had even died.

“Charlie! What hap-”

The words died on his lips.

Cas had flapped in and appeared no more than two feet directly in front of Charlie, head cocked aside in confusion after obviously hearing the reference to his own words.

“Cas…” Dean and the angel’s gazes locked.

Charlie’s eyes went wide as she turned to look up at Dean.

Dean swallowed hard, placing a hand on Charlie’s shoulder, “Charlie, this is Cas…”

She turned back to face Cas, “Pleasedtomeetyou,” she burbled. Dean was pretty sure she’d stopped blinking.

“Salutations.” Cas nodded politely at Charlie, “Hello Dean.”

Dean’s face set, “Why’re you here?”

“You.” No hesitation.

Dean opened and closed his mouth. Charlie was looking back and forth between them, eyes wide. Dean couldn’t blame her. If she was feeling half the tension that Dean was, she was covering it pretty well, all things considered.

“Why don’t you take a seat with Cas in the library, I’m uh, I’m gonna go grab the drink.”

He felt bad, he did, especially after the pleading look Charlie cast him when she knew she’d be left alone with Cas, but he didn’t linger long enough to let it sway him.

Cas and Charlie sat down opposite each other in the library, Charlie looking like a rabbit in the headlights, Cas scanning the room, hands clasped together.

“So,” Charlie shifted in her seat, “Nice trenchcoat.” Word vomit, there was no stopping it.

Cas’ gaze landed on her, “Technically it’s an overcoat.”

 

 

***

 

Dean sat on the edge of his bed, but not before topping up his glass and draining it in one go.

He wouldn’t call it freaking out. It was just that of all the fucking times Cas could have chosen to flap back into his life, it was just after he’d told someone for the first time, his and Cas’ entire history and confessed to being completely gay for him.

 

He took a steadying breath and stood up, padding to the kitchen and picking up the long-forgotten snacks, before heading to the library, coming up short at hearing an actual conversation going on between the pair already in there. “Spying” seemed too harsh of a word to label it. He was simply observing from afar. Hidden behind a book case.

“You don’t believe me?”

“It’s hard for me to believe… But I’d like to see the evidence.”

Charlie pulled out her phone, touched the screen a few times and held it out with a grin, showing Cas something, “His finest hours.”

Cas leant forward, studying the phone screen, “You say he was sober at the time?”

“Yeah! We broke out the moonshine back in the tents, but right there? Sober as a judge. Best handmaiden a queen could ever have.”

 

Fuck.

 

“OKAY, whiskey’s up,” Because _anything,_ Dean would do anything to end that conversation.

He placed the food and drink in the centre of the table and sat down on Cas’ side of it.

There were quite a lot of things Dean wanted to say at that moment. Like why did Cas have to go get compromised _again_? Why has he been ignoring his prayers? Why didn’t Cas trust him? Why couldn’t he just have 5 fucking minutes with _his_ Cas? And while the small, rational part of Dean’s mind argued that Cas getting plucked from Purgatory and having his CPU rewired by force wasn’t exactly his fault, it did nothing to lessen the betrayal he still felt, knowing that Cas didn’t believe in him.

And that’s when he realised how much he wanted Cas to trust him. To have the void that betrayal left inside him, be filled with faith and loyalty. Cas’ faith and loyalty. At his side, completely and for once, back on the same fucking page. For good.

 

All in all, his entire epiphany concluded that despite the bullshit, everything he wanted, through and through, was currently sat beside him, carefully examining a potato chip.

 

Charlie cleared her throat. Dean snapped out of it to look at her. Charlie’s answering facial expression said in a roundabout way, ‘you’ve been staring at him for a good few minutes now… Stop.’

“Dean…-” Came a gravelly voice.

“Kay gotta use the bathroom,” Charlie jumped up from her chair, almost knocking it over in her haste to leave them to it and fled from the room. Dean looked down at his glass, back to swilling the contents.

“Dean I’m sorry.”

“You’re always sorry.” He didn’t look up.

“But you have to understand, I was trying to right my mistakes…”

“By making brand new ones,” He looked up this time, facing Cas with sad resolve.

“That’s why I’m here.”

Dean remained silent, waiting for him to elaborate.

“I want to be on the same side again,” He let out a soft sigh, fixing his gaze on the table instead, “I can’t fight this alone anymore.”

Dean’s eyes were glassy now, voice coming out almost a whisper, honesty spilling out of him before he could stop it, “I’m settling down, Cas… Hell I even told Sammy, I’m nesting here. ..And yet I’ve never felt more alone and it gets worse every time…” he swallowed, hard, “every time you leave.”

Dean looked back down, unable to face Cas anymore. Cas’ guilt clawed at his insides. He knew they weren’t just talking tablets now. “I won’t leave you anymore.” Cas’ hand twitched with hesitation after glancing at Dean’s own neglected one on the table top beside his glass, but Cas dropped his hand back onto his own lap instead, unsure.

The action didn’t go unnoticed.

“I can’t lose you again,” Charlie’s earlier words played through Dean’s mind. Still without looking up, his hand opened palm-up on the table in silent invitation.

Cas wordlessly lifted Dean’s hand, encasing it with both of his, eyes on the side of Dean’s head.

He leant in close, lips almost touching Dean’s ear and murmured quietly, “I’ll stay if you’ll still have me,” Dean’s eyes fell closed. The angel pressed a kiss to the side of Dean’s head, resting his forehead there.

That’s when Dean’s heart rate picked up. With his eyes down, he turned his head inch by inch to face Cas, bringing their mouths closer.

Dean could feel Cas’ breath ghost over his lips.

And then they connected. Just a light graze of lips against lips, before a soft touch, a press.  

 

***

 

Surely she’d given them enough time… Surely? She’d rearranged the contents of the draws in the bathroom, folded all of the towels nicely, lined up Sam’s shampoo collection, even cleaned the sink.

She smiled at her handiwork before quietly making her way back to the library so she didn’t disturb any possible reconciliation that might be going on.

Pausing just out of sight to take a quick peek inside the library turned out to be a very, very smart idea.

She let out a low whistle, “Go Cas…” she murmured.

Cas had one fist wrapped in the front of Dean’s t-shirt, his other hand on Dean’s neck, almost a full on make-out going down, if it weren’t for the blatant care and passion with which they were moving.

With a smile and a pat on her own back, she left them to it, heading for Sam’s room, leaving Dean’s bed free, just in case Cas decided to show Dean just how sorry he was.

 

***

 

Dean gently nudged Cas’ nose with his own, kiss-swollen lips parted, eyes closed lightly, “Will you be here in the morning?” he breathed.

Cas nodded, eyes searching Dean’s face. He lightly ran his fingertips through Dean’s hair, before standing up, motioning for Dean to do the same.

“Bed. Sleep.”

Dean smiled at the order, leading Cas towards his room, “As long as you’re coming too.”

“Dean, I don’t need to slee-”

“Humour me.”

They entered Dean’s room, Dean climbing into bed after removing his t-shirt. Cas shucking most of his clothes and sliding in beside Dean, who moulded against his side instantly.

Sleep was forgotten after that. They talked for hours, sometimes laughing, sometimes punctuating stories with kisses, though by 2am, Dean was drifting off, his speech sluggish.

Cas pressed a lingering kiss to his forehead, “Sleep… I’ll be back.”

It was testament to how sleepy Dean was, that he didn’t question it, just huffed softly, his eyes slipping shut.

Cas climbed out of bed, pulled on Dean’s t-shirt and made his way to the kitchen where he already knew Charlie was.

She looked up from her iPad when she saw him, “I couldn’t sleep- Sorry, did I wake you?”

“I don’t sleep,” Cas sat down opposite her, fixing her with his blue stare, a stare she’d never had to contend with herself up until now, but knew all about. Dean was right. It was like being x-rayed.

Then she noticed he was wearing Dean’s t-shirt. Her jaw hit the floor.

“Wha-Did you-?!”

“No, no… Not yet,” Cas’ eyes softened as he smiled a little shyly, “I want to thank you.”

Charlie winked, “Bathroom looks great huh?”

“I don’t just mean that. I know you talked to Dean. I don’t know what you said, but I know that without it, I wouldn’t be wearing this,” he gestured to Dean’s shirt he was wearing, just a little too big for him.

She shrugged, turning her iPad off, “It was nothing… He just needed to get it all out… But I’m glad it helped. You guys need each other.”

Cas nodded again, “I’d like to repay you, if you’ll allow it?”

She grinned. “I’ll allow it.” She expected a hug or an angelic handshake or similar.

Cas leaned across the table, hand outstretched towards her face. Charlie went cross-eyed, tracking the movement with confusion. Cas touched two fingers to her forehead.

“The gift of life.”

Charlie closed her eyes, waiting for something to happen. She opened one eye when nothing did.

“… Should I be feeling something?”

“No. You should expect a call tomorrow.”

And with that, he stood up and excused himself, heading back to Dean’s room.

Charlie liked Cas, she liked him a lot… But there was no denying it. Sometimes he was just fucking bizarre.

 

***

 

“You’re gonna tell Sam, right?”

Dean shrugged, heading for the main entrance of the batcave with Charlie’s overnight bag and opened the door for her, “I guess so. Doubt I could hide it for long anyway, not with Mr Literal having anything to do with it.”

“Trust me, Sam’ll be fine with it,” She took her bag from him once they were outside the bunker and looked up at him, “I’m really happy for you y’know.”

Dean smiled softly, pulling her in for a hug, “I know. And thank you. I’m grateful… For everything…”

“I know. Now go be gay,” She climbed into her car.

He laughed at that, “Bye Charlie…”

She wound her window down as she drove off, a cheery, “Later, homo!” echoing down the road.

 

***

 

An hour into the drive, Charlie’s cell phone rang.

“Hello Charlie B speaking.”

A breathless voice flooded down the phone, “Charlie? Charlie it’s Rachel from the hospital-”

-Charlie slammed on the brakes, skidding to a halt-

“-it’s your mother- she’s awake.”

 

 

 

 

 

FIN.


	2. Sam Sees

**Notes for the Chapter:**

> Sam returns a few days after Charlie leaves.
> 
> The song http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=qiiyq2xrSI0

“Dean?” Sam dropped his bag next to the door, tired from his trip away from the bunker, salting and burning. Garth was a lot of work, but Sam had to admit it; there was never a dull moment with that guy. “Dean I’m back.”

Sam made the decent down the iron stairs into the bunker, rolling his shoulders as he went. He headed straight to the fridge and popped open a beer, eyes closing momentarily as he took a long drink, leaning against the counter top. Sure, the first trial had left him a little worse for wear, but right now, he was just happy to be home.

That’s when he heard the faint echo of music seeping into the kitchen, too faint to make out. Sam frowned, placing his beer on the top behind him and stepped forwards, slowly following the sound, trying to make out where it was coming from.

He tread quietly towards the side passage, making out a soft beat, gentle. The door at the end of the long hallway, past his and Dean’s rooms, was ajar. The door to the projector room.

The song flowed out fully now and Sam paused a few feet from the doorway, smiling a little in recognition of the beautiful, classic song.

He took the final few steps to the door and opened his mouth to announce his presence, hand on the door knob, when instinct halted him in his tracks and he held still as his eyes focused on the figures in the room. The last time Sam had seen Cas, was just before he took off with the tablet. Yet here he was, sat with Dean in their bunker, going through old records at the long table.

And that’s when Sam knew something had changed.

The softness in Dean’s eyes, the easy, calm curve of Cas’ usually tense shoulders, their knees touching, hands brushing as they sorted through the old, dusty sleeves. They spoke back and forth calmly, though Sam couldn't hear them over the music coming from the old record player at the far end of the table.

Dean’s mouth moved as he spoke, eyes sparkling as he watched Cas. Cas’ head dropped in a shy gesture as a wide smile lit his face.

They were moving with a soft ease around each other that they never had before. Sam swallowed as the subconscious part of his mind clocked every noticeable change in their movements.

Dean’s hand moved to Cas’ knee as he leaned forward, gently tilting Cas’ head back up with his free hand. Their foreheads touched for a moment, as a few words passed between them, before their lips met for brief kisses between smiles.

Sam let out a breath his body had neglected to inform him it had been holding, every hunch, hint and gut feeling; confirmed.

Dean leaned back in his own seat, breaking away from Cas. That’s when Dean’s eyes flicked to the door and landed on Sam, noticing his brother’s presence for the first time. Dean’s mouth set as Cas, oblivious to Sam’s company, examined another old record sleeve. Dean visibly swallowed, mute shock settling over his features at seeing his brother in the doorway, knowing he’d seen everything.

Then Sam realised it wasn’t shock on Dean’s face at all.

It was the face of someone wanting- no… needing approval from the most important person in their life.

Sam’s face split into a grin, nodding once to his brother. Dean visibly relaxed, his shoulders raising a fraction as he pulled in a deep, calming breath, the corners of his eyes crinkling a little as he returned the nod.

Sam pushed his hands into his pockets, turning on the spot and leaving them to it, still smiling to himself.

And that’s how it happened. No ceremony. No acceptance speech, no coming out party… Just two people finally pulling off their long-running, inevitable, natural, conclusion.

 

Though Sam was sure he wasn’t going to be able to get Unchained Melody out of his head for a while now and he definitely needed to give Charlie a call.

 


End file.
